John Myung (merged)

[blaire]

Not to get off topic, but I also have the same complaint with Metallica, You can never hear the bass. To not be able to hear the bass in any music should be a crime!!! :scowl:

 

[DEFELDUS]

portnoy actually used the "siamese monster" on the recording of 6DoIT. it wasn't built just for the tour.

 

[rodoherty1]

He can, and he has: his "Platypus" and "The Jelly Jam" side projects with former keyboardist Derek Sherinian in Platypus, and guitarist Ty Tabor of King's X and drummer Rod Morgenstein of The Dregs/Winger. Much looser tunes, and JM lays back with the best of them.

Hmmm ... Maybe I am being a bit unfair because I do quite like his bass in the 1st verse of "Finally Free" (with the full band playing). I do own both Platypii (??) and I really wasn't too impressed. I guess I'd like hear John soloing a little more or throwing in little licks here and there which are clearly off the cuff. I still got the impression that he worked out his lines well in advanced and didn't deviate from them at all.

I can see very distinct parallels between my playing and John's (e.g. an apparent lack of confidence to play freely and experiment on the fly) so maybe I'm a little over-critical.

I didn't realise that John cited Tony Levin and the Motown stuff as major influences. Thanks for pointing that out.

I'd love John to break free of the incredibly tight grip that Portnoy and Petrucci seem to have on him.

Cheers for the chat ... !!

Rob.

 

[Z-Bass]

I wouldn't call anything DT does "minimalistic", but that's one thing I've noticed lacking in their last 3 studio releases. JM used to play many more counterpoint lines against both the guitar and keyboard, and now simply doubles the guitar 90% of the time (granted, not an easy thing to do with Petrucci) - I prefer the interplay of "the old days", but things change.

LOL. I agree, wrong choice of words I guess, didn't mean to imply that DT is playing 3 chord rock now. Minimalistic DT is still a lot of notes, maybe just a few less that earlier efforts. It just seems that Myung is hanging back more that before.

 

[Ian Perge]

...I guess I'd like hear John soloing a little more or throwing in little licks here and there which are clearly off the cuff. I still got the impression that he worked out his lines well in advanced and didn't deviate from them at all.

I agree, but I simply think he isn't that type of player. The few times he's "soloed" (mainly on the first leg of the "Images and Words" tour, before the "Moon Bubbles" jam) were simply a flurry of notes and some two-handed tapping. A nice show of technique, sure, but no clear melody that true soloists display. To his credit, however, I believe Myung realizes it's not his forte.

There's also the time period in which you listen to him. JM was a looser player with Kevin Moore and Derek Sherinian than Jordan Rudess. I think with Rudess playing Left Hand Keyboard Bass 75% of the time, any little moments that JM could change would simply get lost in the mix (JR's left hand in the FOH mix is one of the larger complaints these days)

I didn't realise that John cited Tony Levin and the Motown stuff as major influences. Thanks for pointing that out.

I'm glad I could - it's something JM has referred to only handful of times in print interviews, and a point of view that "JM haters" don't know or don't accept - that you can be influenced by something and not have it be readily apparent.

I'd love John to break free of the incredibly tight grip that Portnoy and Petrucci seem to have on him.

Don't get me started on what the MP/JP "Power Block" has done to one of my favorite bands. :scowl: But DT is a steady, more than well-paying gig (especially for "prog rock") and I suppose that security and his daughter's college fund may take priority over his artistry. Far be it for me to judge him on that, if it's the case.

LOL. I agree, wrong choice of words I guess, didn't mean to imply that DT is playing 3 chord rock now.

I should have thrown in an emoticon or three - I meant that far more tongue-in cheek than it came out as, and I'm very much in agreement with you.

Minimalistic DT is still a lot of notes, maybe just a few less that earlier efforts. It just seems that Myung is hanging back more that before.

I also think it's a matter of what notes he's playing. Even on the new DVD, compare the newer material against "Only A Matter Of Time" and see how his style has, for lack of a better term, regressed... although one could argue that for DT as a whole. They've fallen deep into the "Guitar solo/Keyboard solo/Unison solos/Harmony solos" hole, and that's hardly "progressive" music.

 

[SlavaF]

I love Myung as well as DT, so I really can't complain about them regressing. "This Dying Soul" is my favorite song ever, and Train of Thought is an overall amazing album IMO. I'm more into the heavy metal aspects of DT, and they are great when they make heavy music, but they have so much more variety; I find it amazing how The Glass Prison and Dissappear are by the same band, let alone on the same album!

But for all you people ready to dismiss DT as a bunch of heavy metal wankers, do so after their next album comes out! If their next album will be as heavy on crazy soloing as ToT and SDoIT were, then it will be clear where they're headed, but if it's more proggy, then I think a lot of the old school IaW fans will be interested in DT again.

But about Myung stepping back a lot more, I definitely agree - on Live at Budokan, he seems to have NO emotion or energy; he just stands there and stares at his bass. On LSFNY, he was moving a lot more. And plus he seems to play as little as possible; no fills, nothing different from how he recorded. Seems to me like he's tired of being in DT... it would really suck if he quit.

 

[DEFELDUS]

i love myung but i think DT would benefit greatly from a new bassist. hes an amazing player, but i feel like hes just not right for DT.

 

[MacheteJames]

i love myung but i think DT would benefit greatly from a new bassist. hes an amazing player, but i feel like hes just not right for DT.

Dream Theater just isn't a healthy environment for any bass player to be in. Petrucci and Portnoy just will not give an inch, leaving Myung with no sonic space. The busy keyboard work definitely doesn't help. They really may as well not even have a bassist, and be the prog version of the White Stripes or something.

 

[Vox Populi]

Sorry to ressurect this, but...

I bought two of the DT DVDs a few days ago (Budokan and Live Scenes from NY), and I can hear Myung ok... I mean, he's not upfront like Geddy or anything like that... But it's ok. It might just be the mixing done with the live tracks, but they make it sound nice. There are parts where it's very apparent that Myung is playing some extremely technical parts, and you can hear them. And the times when there are little fills Petrucci is playing, you can clearly hear Myung following him note for note, adding much needed extra punch.

Someone mentioned that Myung simultaneously plays with Portnoy and Petrucci. Very true. He jumps around between echoing Petrucci and playing counter to the drums.

My complaint is that he doesn't get enough camera time compared to the others. Maybe because Portnoy produced and directed the Budokan DVD... I hear he's quite the arrogant a**.

Myung is a very shy and withdrawn person, maybe his playing is an extension of his personality?

I like his playing alot, he's one of my favorites.

 

[Possu jam]

i love myung but i think DT would benefit greatly from a new bassist. hes an amazing player, but i feel like hes just not right for DT.

Then again, I know many many people who would stop listening to DT if there would be a new bass player.
I mean, would it be Dream Theater if one of the original member would go? No It wouldnt. I`d stop listening to DT in a heartbeat if JM would go.

The band has been together for, what, 17 years. If JM really would want to leave, He would have done it already.

Lets take it this way. 80% of the DT fans drummers would stop listening to DT if Portnoy would go. Mike was almost quitting the job as a DT drummer in the FII tour.

Thats just my opinion

 

[P-nut]

his signature bass. Jawdroppingly comfortable to play. strings are close to fretboard, distance between strings is little (--> slapping=difficult). And its far better than the John Patitucci Bass for 3000$.

Buy it, the best 6string I ever played.

 

[Possu jam]

Did you try it with a amp? I´m propably byuing it in the near future...